August 20, 2026
Should You Still Come to the Big Island?
What Visitors Need to Know Right Now
If you’ve got a Big Island trip on the calendar — this week, this month, or later this fall — you’ve probably seen the headlines about Hurricane Lala and are now wondering about the condition of the island and other potential storms. We manage vacation rentals all along East Hawaii through Salt Water Vacations, and we spent the days before and after Lala checking in on our properties and our guests one by one. Here’s what we can tell you as people who live here and do this for a living. We have over 20 years of history and experience here!
What to Expect Right Now
The short version: the Big Island is open, and tourism officials report limited damage to visitor infrastructure. All commercial airports reopened by August 17, 2026, though the storm itself did cancel roughly 170 flights across the islands over the weekend — so if you’re flying in soon, it’s worth a quick check of your specific flight status. Most hotels and resorts reopened as well; the biggest lingering guest inconvenience was temporary power outages, which affected roughly half of hotel properties for a stretch. State parks and beaches were back open by August 18th, though dangerous surf and water advisories limited ocean activity in the immediate aftermath. Our advice: confirm directly with your hotel or vacation rental host, and with any tours or activities you’ve booked, since some operators are still on adjusted schedules while they finish cleanup.
Should You Reschedule?
The Hawaiʻi Tourism Authority’s guidance during Lala was straightforward: travelers scheduled to arrive in the coming weeks were told to keep their travel plans, since hotels and many vacation rentals remained operational throughout. That guidance still holds. A storm watch or a rainy forecast isn’t the same as an unsafe one, and the Big Island has weathered plenty of both. What we’d suggest instead of canceling outright: stay flexible, keep an eye on official channels, and make your final call closer to your actual travel dates.
If You Already Have a Vacation Rental Booked with Salt Water
This is where we can speak most directly, because it’s our own policy. Salt Water Vacations has a Severe Weather Extenuating Circumstances policy that we activated during Lala. It’s worth understanding because it’s specific, not a blanket “we’ll figure it out” promise. Your reservation qualifies for cancellation and a refund when severe weather makes the property genuinely inaccessible or unsafe — meaning the home becomes uninhabitable, it loses power or water for 12 hours or more, your airline cancels your flight due to the storm, or the roads to reach the property are officially closed by emergency authorities. What doesn’t automatically qualify: ordinary rain, wind, or surf, a forecast that never actually threatens the property, or simply feeling nervous about the possibility of weather. When a booking does qualify, we’ll work with you on either a full or partial refund or rescheduling your stay within 18 months — whichever makes more sense for your plans. During Lala, we proactively reached out to every guest whose reservation was affected under this policy rather than waiting for them to ask.
If you’re watching Moke’s development and wondering where your own booking stands, reach out to us directly — we’d rather talk it through with you than have you guess.
Keeping an Eye on What’s Next
As of today, there are no tropical watches or warnings in effect for the developing system that has been named Moke. The most useful things you can do are sign up for Hawaii County text alerts, bookmark www.punaweather.org for local weather updates, download the GoHawaii app for real-time updates, and keep the National Weather Service and Central Pacific Hurricane Center forecasts bookmarked. The 24-hour visitor helpline, 1-800-GOHAWAII, is also a good resource if you want a real person to talk to.
Want to Help While You’re Here?
A lot of visitors ask us this after a storm, and we love that they do. Several organizations are actively supporting Big Island households affected by Lala: the Hawaiʻi Community Foundation’s Stronger Hawaiʻi Fund and Hawaiʻi Island United Way are both accepting monetary donations for recovery efforts, and The Food Basket (Hawaiʻi’s statewide food bank) is collecting unopened canned and dry goods at its Hilo and Kona locations. Vibrant Hawaiʻi, a Hilo-based nonprofit, has been running water distribution in hard-hit areas, and the American Red Cross is both operating shelters and looking for volunteers. If you’re already on-island, ask us or check the GoHawaii app for organized volunteer opportunities that fit your dates — many visitors find a few hours of hands-on help becomes the most meaningful part of their trip. However this next system develops, we’ll be here, keeping watch the way we always do. If you have questions about an existing reservation, or you’re thinking about planning a future stay on the Big Island, give the Salt Water Vacations team a call or email — we’re small, we’re local, and we’d genuinely rather help you plan this right than rush you into a decision.
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